Las Vegas Gambling Tips: My Poker Adventure At Foxwoods

Welcome to Las Vegas! My name is Victor H. Royer, but everyone just calls me Vegas Vic. I was named after that famous neon sign in Downtown Las Vegas, that cowboy with the hat on top of the Pioneer Club, always waving his hand and beckoning to his long love, Sassy Sally, on the other side of the street. I will be writing a few articles for AccessVegas.com, so I hope you enjoy them.

My Poker Adventure At Foxwoods

The day was Saturday night, the time 11:00 p.m., the game $10-$20 Seven Card Stud, and the table was full. I sat in the only open seat – just vacated by a player whose stack of chips measured 2-reds by the time he left (that”s a bare $10, if you”re wondering) – bought in for $300 and said a silent “Hello” by means of a nod to the rest of the table.

I was on the south-end of the long table, and seated around me and in front of me was an ominous looking bunch of men, all with some significantly imposing stacks of chips in front of them. Some were chomping on cigars (not lit because Foxwoods is a non-smoking poker room), and several had “sweaters” behind them, looking on. There were no women seated at this game, although there were several ladies at many other tables.

These East Coast players looked tough. I live in Las Vegas, so I have had more experience with players in Nevada (throughout the State), but now I was confronted with faces I didn”t know. But the time was good, the money looked inviting, and the general ambiance of the poker room and the games also felt good, so I took the plunge.

First few hands I threw away. Nothing much to play with. It was time to look around and see who”s playing what and how. It turned out that several of the players were obvious regulars, and many knew each other. In fact, it began to seem to be like this was a “poker clique”. So I began to engage some of the nearby players in conversation. Then I played my first hand, while still chatting to the two players to my left. They must have thought I was a tourist, and that was good. I reinforced that by saying I flew in from California, which I did.

That first hand I had mediocre cards which I would not have normally played, but it was time to do something, so I raised. I was called, and the next street, I raised again. Four players called. On fifth street, another player bet, another raised, two dropped out and I called. Sixth street made me a little flush and it must have been obvious, but the bets came, I raised and was called! Seventh was a blank for me. Then came the showdown, and my little flush held up.

While I was racking up the chips, I remarked to my two new “friends” to the left of me how “lucky” I was, and they nodded in agreement. The other players didn”t seem concerned, although they did gab a little, but I couldn”t tell what they were talking about, although I”m pretty sure they were talking about my little flush and how stupid I was to have stayed in the hand so long with such get-nowhere starting cards.

After this hand, I proceeded to win every pot I was in, and I was in all the pots (but for 2) for the next hour. By that time, most of the chips the other players had were in front of me and I was seriously running out of available room. I had to stack up racks one on top of the other just to be able to see my cards.

Then I lost a hand which cost me $10. After that, I proceeded to win several more pots, and by now the players at that table were beginning to look at me strangely. I was starting to get comments like – “You”ve played this game before, huh?” Two players left the table now, and one new one sat down. He lasted about 15 minutes, and his chips came to my stack.

At this point, it began to get harder to get players to stay in pots with me. Just about this time I was in a pot which I lost – my second loss for the session – to a last-card full house. This pot cost me $100. It seemed a blessing in disguise, because as a result many of the remaining players started to bet again, thinking, perhaps, that my “luck” had gone.

I proceeded to win every pot thereafter. On the last hand I played, I was beaten by one player, and this pot cost me $30. I cashed out. After about 2 hours of play, I came away with $2,500.00 in profit. During the session I lost only 3 pots, and I played almost every hand. By the time I chose to leave, the remaining players at the table – those who initially had large stacks of chips – now only had a few left. The game broke up.

As I was leaving, hauling my racks of chips with me, one of the players called out to me: “Where the hell”re you from, kid?” (I”m no kid, but I guess I look that way.) I said: “Las Vegas, and thanks for a great game.” As I was walking away I heard the other players laugh out loud a little, and another one yelled out: “And don”t come back!” – the best compliment I ever got!

So, as far as poker goes, what”s the lesson here? Mel Gibson, in the movie “Maverick”, said it best: “Gentlemen, I promise that for the first hour I will lose.” Good advise. Doesn”t have to be an hour, but taking a few hands to see what”s what in a new environment, with players whom you don”t know – well, that”s worth a few blind calls. And, like happened to me, once you establish an “image” at the table, you”ll get the benefit of two distinct personalities:

One, the kind who thinks you can”t be that lucky always, and therefore a call against you is worthwhile. And two, the kind that is so mad at you that he has to call, just to show you up. In either case, you get the calls, and the raises, and can make a good profit.

Okay, yes, it”s true that in this case I also did have the luck of the draw. Nobody can play practically every hand – like I did – and get away with it. But there are times when – in this case – I played many hands which I normally wouldn”t just because of the situation as it was at this table, this game, this time. Once you can “unlock” the “passions” of your opponents, then you can take them along deep into the pot only to see them fold on the last raise, or bet, because they hope to fish one out, and then fold because they think that you”ll show them up if they stay in, or call and be beaten. So, the lesson is: Blustering aggression pays, if it follows an established sequence of hard wins with really good hands.

Victor H. Royer, known as Vegas Vic, is the author of 42 books. Mostly known for books, articles, and columns on casino games and gambling, he is also the author of New Casino Slots, Great Gamblers: True Stories and Amazing Facts, The Great American Joke Book, as well as his works of Fiction, which include: Another Day, and the Western: Riders on the Wind. Versatile and multitalented, Royer is the creator, producer, and host of the Web-TV show Great Casino Slots, now showing at www.LasVegasLiveTV.com. He also composes music and performs under the names Glenn Diamond, Pappy Jones, Hans Dorfmann, and Miguel Armandaiz. For more information, please visit him at www.MoreCasinoDeals.com and www.GamingAuthor.com. Sign up for the Insider Advantage Newsletter at: http://www.accessvegas.com/membership

His books can be ordered through this website, by following the links provided